Georgia Southern Visits Furman
2/9/2011 8:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern Men's Basketball will take to the road for a Thursday night contest against Furman starting at 7 p.m. The Eagles are paced by junior Ben Drayton III (St. Marys, Ga.) with 15.8 points per game. The Georgia Southern Radio Network will have live coverage on 102.9 FM and GeorgiaSouthernEagles.com/Eaglevision starting at 6:30 p.m.
The Eagles, (4-21, 0-11 SoCon) have earned respect within the league, going toe-to-toe with the four of the best teams in the league over the last few weeks. The Eagles took Chattanooga to the brink a week ago and fought Samford to the final seconds last Saturday. Freshman of the Year Candidate Eric Ferguson (Statesboro, Ga.) leads all SoCon freshmen in scoring with 12.7 points per game.
GSU's rotation will be reduced by one because freshman guard Tré Bussey has been suspended for the Furman (Feb. 10) and Wofford (Feb. 12) games for a violation of team protocol. Sophomore Zuri James (Stone Mountain, Ga.) is expected to take Bussey's place in the lineup.
Georgia Southern leads the all-time series, 22-21 but have fallen in the last two games against the Paladins and dropped the last three games in Greenville. The series dates back to 1977.
Furman (17-7, 9-4 SoCon) ranks third in the SoCon South Division and went .500 in a road trip through South Carolina's Low Country last week. The Paladins defeated The Citadel 59-55 last Thursday but lost 73-54 to the College of Charleston on Saturday night. Furman is paced by Amu Saaka's 17.1 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game.
Head coach Charlton "C.Y." Young leads the Eagles in his second year in charge of his alma mater's program. Young led Georgia Southern to its last NCAA Tournament appearance and with 1,517 career points and ranks 11th on the all-time Georgia Southern scoring list.
Furman head coach Jeff Jackson is in his fifth season in charge of the Paladins. He has a 58-87 record in Greenville and a 79-147 career mark in eight years.
GSU continues on the regular season's final road swing with a Saturday (Feb. 12th) game against Wofford before closing the regular season road schedule against Davidson (Feb. 16th). The Eagles return home for three-straight home games to close the regular schedule starting on Feb. 19th against The Citadel.
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